Vote for Shane!
Hello members of the Jury, I’m going to start off by apologize to a majority of you for taking part in your eliminations. Nothing was personal at all about these votes, strictly gameplay and strategy for myself. I knew once the merge hit, the game would tougher and it sure as hell did. You all seriously put up one hell of a fight and I believe anyone could have won this game had they made it to the end. I loved playing with every single one of you and I genuinely hope you understand my game play. At the beginning of the game, I immediately connected with everyone on the Vanua tribe. I did in fact know Tommy from the very start and knew that this was an opportunity for us to play together. I also knew Junessy (MJ) and Alex, but they were on the Viti tribe. Tommy and I were shocked at this opportunity and decided to work together. I also grew very close with Rachel, Odd, Brittney, Anthony, and Vojta. We managed to score the first two immunity wins of the season, securing our position in the game. Once we lost, Conan got the boot. I had heard he was telling someone my name early on before we had even lost a challenge, so I managed to get every on board with voting him out. My social skills were able to bring everyone together for our first vote and get out someone that I knew had previously said my name. This round’s leader for the Viti tribe was Junessy (MJ), so when she got added to our tribal chat, we talked, connected, and managed to form a stronger relationship. I utilized this opportunity to build a connection with the Viti tribe, which came in handy at the merge. Then we get hit with the tribe swap. Something I was VERY excited for, but it turned out that I had three of my closest allies on my the new Vanua tribe. Along with two OG Viti tribe members, Gemma and Luis. Gemma wasn’t around at all, so that was an easy vote for my tribe to pull off. However, that round Alex was the Viti leader and got to vote with us. When he arrived in our chat, we reconnected and agreed to work together going into the merge. Alex made a comment saying, “Maybe we switch roles this time who knows” as in the fact when we played together in a different ORG, he voted me out at 7th and ended up winning the game. Now that Alex went out in 7th place in this ORG and I’m sitting here at the FTC, there’s only one more step for his comment to go full circle ;) Moving onto the Luis vote, he was someone I would’ve loved to work with, but he didn’t talk much game and I couldn’t turn my back on the people I knew had my back the most at this point in the game. And the final vote before the merge was Vojta, someone I believed would have flipped on me in a heartbeat had he made it to the merge. I could have been wrong, but there’s no well of telling now. At the time, I felt as though Tommy, Rachel, and Melissa were best for my game going into the merge. Now the merge...where things got tricky and dicey. I knew my position in the game wasn’t where I wanted it to be, so I quickly reconnected with Anthony, Brittney, and Odd. As well, got to finally really meet Grayham and Maynor. Immediately I built up my relationships with every single person and wanted to call as many shots as I could. A wonderful example of how my social game played out was at our first challenge, the Merge Auction. I was able to gather information from every single person and make sure I wouldn’t bid on the same items as them. I saw that there were two items no one was going for, so I split my money on both items. I ended up winning the auction for both items, earning myself an extra vote and an exile pass. I kept these a secret for as long as I needed, not a single person knew about them and I used them in moments where I knew my name was at risk of being a target. I managed to create genuine relationships with everyone where they felt comfortable enough to tell me what they bid on. The first vote off at the merge was Odd, someone I did have an alliance with on the original Vanua tribe. Him, myself, and Rachel all worked together and protected one another. However, once the challenge was over, Rachel and I both caught odd vibes from Odd, where we felt both a lack of communication and worried he’d flip on us. As well, we talked during the auction and Odd was very smart and sneaky about his planning, so I knew he was gonna be a stealthy player and someone to watch out for. Rachel and I went to work and supported one another’s voices when we pitched Odd’s name to the remaining tribe members. Everyone seemed to be on board, as long as it wasn’t their name on the chopping block. I also took this as an opportunity to prove to Alex, Maynor, Grayham, and Junessy that I didn’t want to play based on OG tribal lines. I was ready to make moves and secure the best position in the game for myself. This point in the merge is where everything got a lot more tricky and difficult because I had to start lying to a lot of people and play my own game that benefit me. In this round, I was approached by Alex, Anthony, and Grayham to form a 4 person alliance. I wasn’t going to say no, as this ensured 3 more people were protecting me in the game, or so I thought...Anthony spilled a lot of information to me about himself, Alex, and Grayham, telling me how they have a F3 and planned to cut me at the F4. Obviously I knew this wasn’t something I’d want to continue working with, as they already had plans to cut me at the end. There was a lot to this portion of the game that I’d love for people to ask questions about because it’s a whole lot. However, yes...I was playing both sides here and used every piece of information I got to advance myself in the game. I knew Melissa and Anthony were a tight duo, I knew Anthony, Alex, and Grayham had a F3, and I knew Anthony didn’t trust Alex at a few times. This all came in handy when I wanted to call shots at who to take out. The first plan was originally to vote off Grayham, but his white pearl really threw a loop through our plan and that sent Brittney home. Let me also say, Brittney...this wasn’t the plan and I’m devastated that you got eliminated because of a white pearl. I loved working with you and I hope we have the opportunity to do so again one day! After aligning with Grayham, Alex, and Anthony...yet voting against them and voting for Grayham to be eliminated, I knew I was in trouble. I had to backtrack and lie my way out of the situation, saying that Brittney told me that Grayham and her had talked about voting me that round. I made up this entire lie to ensure these three wouldn’t turn their backs on me. Which they didn’t and I was able to convince them that I panicked at the idea of my name coming up, when in reality I knew the entire time the vote was for Grayham. As the next vote came up, there was a chance for me to prove I was “loyal” to this male’s alliance. Tommy told us that he had two idols, so when the votes were lined up to send Rachel out the door, we planned to use it on Rachel and make sure no one knew about us as a group. I did indeed voted Rachel and kept my word to this male’s alliance. However, knew all along this was a key opportunity to take out Grayham after hearing he had planned the F3 with Alex and Anthony and left me on the outs. Grayham, I know you’re upset with me, but Anthony spilled a lot of information that revealed you weren’t best for my game. This was nothing but a game move, so I hope you can understand I was playing hard and ensuring someone planning to cut me off would be the next vote. The Final 8...My agenda was working out and I had kept my promise to both sides and kept everyone happy with MY vote. Obviously people were shocked and hurt that Grayham left, but it was best for my game. Following this vote, I knew Anthony needed to go. He was super close to Melissa, who was one of my closest allies too. This is where Melissa and I had a huge tear in our relationship, but we managed to rekindle it and make it here to the end together by looking out for one another. Anthony was a huge Jury threat in my opinion and knowing that my goal was to continue proving to Alex that I wasn’t playing from tribal lines, it was a smart move to vote Anthony out. When the results came out as a 5-3 vote, I knew I’d have to do damage control with Melissa and Alex, both of who seemed very hurt over this blindside. Anthony was someone I connected with the most this season on a personal level and I genuinely loved playing with him. So smart and incredibly nice! Now the Final 7, where shit starts to blow up. I hear my name being tossed out, either from Melissa or from Alex. Maynor filled me in on this information and I decided to use it to pin both Alex and Melissa against one another by calling them both out on who was saying my name. The truth never came full circle in time for the vote, so I played my first advantage...the double vote. I knew that the idol was in possession of Tommy, so I didn’t need to worry about it. I played my double vote and voted for both Alex and Melissa. This was a safety vote and a way to ensure I wouldn’t be the vote. Alex, I seriously admire your game play and think you’ve killed it all season. I believe had you made it any further, I could have been the next player voted out. Good game man! Final 6 was HARD! I had a tight relationship with every single player remaining, making the vote impossible. After the previous vote, Alex called me out in the Tribe chat and it worried me dearly. I knew I had my very last secret advantage in the game and used it to guarantee myself a spot in the Final 5. Maynor and I played in a past ORG too on 703, where we never talked. This time around, I wanted to fix that and build a real relationship with him. We bonded over so many different things and I love the dude! There wasn’t much I could have done to save him, but I’m beyond happy we got to play together again and I seriously can’t wait to talk to you more! Now the end game...MJ, Melissa, Tommy, and Rachel. 4 people I was playing with all game. The vote was between MJ and Melissa, but I knew MJ had 2 strikes already and when she wasn’t responding to any of my messages, it was a perfect opportunity to show Tommy and Rachel that I was working with them fully. We all voted for Melissa, showing them I was sticking with them until the very end. MJ would earn her 3rd strike, sending her home and leaving Melissa in a blindsided blindside. I had to break everything down to her about my move and to show her I was still working with her for the end game. We had a major fight, but fixed everything and we saved one another in the last vote, bringing us both to the end. MJ was someone who hosted me in the past and when we reconnected this season, our relationship grew and I know how much love we had for one another. A real sweetheart and genuine person! The Final Challenge!!! Tommy wins and it’s down to Rachel, Melissa, and myself. Melissa tells me that Tommy asks her to vote me, which we planned a response of “Yes” so he doesn’t worry and try to grab Rachel for the vote. Melissa and I stick to our guns and manage to get Tommy and Rachel to each vote separately, skipping the fire-making challenge all together with a 2-1-1 vote. I gave full props to Tommy for trying to make a move at the last minute, but Melissa and I had a F2 from early on and we protected one another throughout the whole game. Rachel...I’m deeply sorry that we couldn’t make the end together. I seriously loved playing with you this entire game and I can’t wait to compete with you in our next game soon! Overall, I managed to use my strong social connections and utilize my relationships to gather important and critical information throughout the entire game. My connections with everyone in the game were completely real and genuine, nothing fake. I made big game moves and I made mistakes, both which helped me learn more about myself and the game as a whole. Throughout the game, I played both sides and took shots at the people I wanted gone. Everyone was so focused on each other, that I was able to pin everyone against one another and keep myself and allies safe. Had I never exposed my male’s alliance to my allies, I would have been in a many other tricky situations. My game play allowed for me to open the game completely and see where everyone stood with one another. I had to be strategist ever vote and spin lies to make sense for my game, even when I had just voted out an alliance member. I think I played one hell of a game that deserves a win! Please vote for me to represent this season and be the winner of Season 8, Leader’s Rules! If you have any questions, please let me know! I'm going to be fully honest and transparent with my game play. Thank you, Shane Kenaston